Athletic directors at VCU and Mason issued statements that they have had no formal discussions with the A-10. CAA commissioner Tom Yeager called the report "a non-story" and said he would have been apprised by A-10 counterpart Bernadette McGlade if there was even mutual interest.

"Both schools indicated there's absolutely no truth to the rumors, as well as others that have been bandied about in the media over the past couple of weeks," Yeager said during a Monday afternoon teleconference. "They're not exploring other options and in combination with conversations we've had over the last couple months and weeks, they aren't looking to go anywhere else, nor have they had any kind of offer that would turn their heads."

The statements from the schools and Yeager's teleconference came in the wake of a CBSSports.com report Sunday that said VCU and Mason were considering a jump to the A-10. Temple, which fields one of the A-10's marquee basketball programs, accepted a recent invitation to the Big East in the wake of defections to the ACC (Syracuse, Pittsburgh) and Big 12 (West Virginia).

The CBS report rose to a level beyond rumor and Internet chatter because author Brett McMurphy had been spot-on concerning many aspects of conference realignment over the past 18 months.

But VCU's Board of Visitors had not met and discussed conference affiliation, as the report said. Mason athletic director Tom O'Connor released a statement that said in part that there has been no invitation or even formal discussions with the A-10, and that the school remains committed to the CAA.

"We didn't hold hands and take blood oaths or anything like that," Yeager said. "I take them (at) their word."

As he does McGlade. He said that they speak regularly, and that membership and interest haven't been discussed in quite a while.

"As a professional courtesy, we talk amongst ourselves," he said. "I am sure, without a doubt, that had these discussions risen to the level as had been reported, that Bernie McGlade … and I would have had a conversation about that.

"I have been on the receiving and initiating ends of those conversations. They're never particularly pleasant, but as a courtesy, they generally always occur."

McGlade issued a statement, as well, saying that there's no timeline regarding membership issues or decisions. The league's current membership is committed through 2013, and will be patient and deliberate in terms of the future.

The A-10 is rated a better basketball conference than the CAA in recent years, according to CollegeRPI.com. Though Temple's impending departure affects its standing.

The A-10 had four teams make the NCAA tournament this season, the ninth time in the past 10 years the league has had multiple bids. In the past decade, the A-10 has received 18 at-large bids, while the CAA has received four.

VCU and George Mason famously made runs to the Final Four, in 2011 and 2006, respectively — coincidentally, both as at-large teams. But just twice in the past decade has the CAA been rated higher than the A-10 — in 2005 and '04.

This season the CAA was rated 15th, its lowest in a decade, while the A-10 was the No. 7 overall league.

Yeager theorized that realignment fervor that shook up several Bowl Championship Series conferences in the past couple of years eventually trickled down to so-called mid-major leagues such as the Colonial, Atlantic 10 and Missouri Valley.

"Do I feel vulnerable? No, not at all," Yeager said. "I think when all the dust settles, we're going to be stronger and our 12 institutions, as we have talked about over the last couple of months, are very comfortable where we are. We don't feel that there's any necessity to expand and we don't believe we're losing anybody."

The CAA recently announced a five-year agreement with the NBC Sports Group and its new all-sports channel to broadcast and provide multiple platforms for both basketball and football.

The conference has seen an increase in exposure and improvement in its programs in the wake of NCAA tournament success in basketball and FCS national championships and playoff participation in football.

Short of what Yeager referred to as a member school "winning the lottery" — receiving an invitation from a BCS-level conference — he doesn't foresee any movement in the near future.

"We're always going to have one eye out toward becoming better and stronger," he said. "It will be with 12 equal partners. There will be a lot of debate about who that might be and what's really needed. That process has been ongoing and will continue to be ongoing, and we're doing that right now and being cognizant of what opportunities might present (themselves).

"We're in a very good place, and we believe that we could expand if we wanted to. … We might lose somebody if they won the lottery, but right now we're continuing to work toward getting better next year with the team we've got."